Back Together Again
by Katherinereads
Summary: My version of what happened at the end of 6x06 when Aria went to see Ezra at The Brew.
1. Chapter 1

Aria's POV

It has been such a long day...hell, long year. Ever since we got back from the dollhouse, all I want to do is run into Ezra's arms. I was trying to keep my cool around him; I didn't want to make things harder than they needed to be. But after all that's been going on recently, I know it's time to turn to him.

I was just returning from the Hollis lab, after snooping for evidence against Leslie. Now, I'm heading to The Brew. I need Ezra especially now more than ever. I walked up to the front of The Brew and was about to open the door, when I looked in and saw him.

He was sitting on the couch laughing with another girl; a pretty girl. He looked so happy. I can't take that away from him. With me he has to deal with all of the drama that follows me wherever I go. How did this happen to us? The love of my life is the one person that I am loosing. I let a tear fall as I turn around to leave.

Ezra's POV

It was really late at night and I was having a cup of tea with one of Emily's friends, Nicole from her missions trip. She was very sweet and I was enjoying myself. We were both laughing at one of the stories she told of her and Emily, when out of the corner of my eye I see Aria outside and what appears to be crying. I do a double take and she's not there anymore, but I still could have sworn I saw her.

It's now noticeable that I'm distracted. "Is everything okay?," Nicole asks. "Y-yeah. Hold on. I need to check something".

I get up from my chair and jog toward the door, opening it up, I look and sure enough there is Aria walking towards her car.

"Aria?" I cal out. She turns, and my heart breaks when I see the tears running down her face. "Aria," I say again, but softer. "What's wrong?" Then she does something I don't expect. She comes running towards me and jumps into my arms, crying into the crook of my neck. She's shaking. I hate seeing her like this.

"Hey. Hey, sweetie. Ssshhh. It's okay, it's okay." I try calming her down. It take a while, but eventually she gets there. "What's wrong?," I whisper in her ear.

She clings tighter to me. I hear a muffled "everything" fall from her lips. It hurts so much to see her in so much pain. I look around and see that Nicole is now standing in the doorway. I motion to her a goodnight. She nods in an understanding way, and silently bids a goodnight as so Aria will let it go unnoticed.

I focus my attention back on Aria. I lean down and kiss the top of her head and give her a little squeeze. "Want to go inside?" I whisper. I feel her nod against my chest, but she doesn't move. I swiftly lift her up into my arms and carry her inside over to the couch. The Brew is empty now that it is so late and after closing.

I walk over to the counter and make her some hot chocolate with mini marshmallows, just as she likes it. The room is completely silent besides Aria's sniffling.

I walk back over to the couch and hand her the hot chocolate. I sit down right next to her and put my arms around her. I didn't know if it was the right thing to do, but I get a positive response as she snuggles into my chest so she is as close as she can be to me.

I give her a soft and long kiss on the top of her head and finally break the silence. "So do you want to tell me what's wrong?"


	2. Chapter 2

Ariapov

For some reason, this question just makes me cry again, but Ezra's strong arms wrap tighter around me. God, I love him.

"Where do I start?" I lean back so he can see my face and I can see his. He just looks at me with love and concern patiently giving me however much time I need to spill my heart out to him.

"It's -A" I begin. "They've been on us since our return from the doll house, but now with death threats and everything I just…" I let out a graon in frustration not knowing how to finish the statement.

"Sweetie, you should tell me- or somebody at leaast- about these things. We want to keep you safe," Ezra replies. He looks so cute when he's concerned.

"But we can't! You know how -A works! They will hurt one of us!" I look at him clearly frusterated, but he just looks at me back with a face that almost makes me melt right in him arms. "Oh…" I say. "There's anothing thing."

"What is it?" he asks quizzically.

"-A chipped us." I say this quietly knowing that Ezra will freak out.

"What?!" He eyes fill with anger and he jaw slightly drops. He loosens his grip around me and goes to stand. "Aria, you have to show the police this! We need to go now!" He starts to looks for his car keys.

"Ezra wait!" I call. He turns back towards me still filled with emotion. "I know we do. But, can we please do it tomrrow. Please. What I need right now is just to be here. With you." I look at him with pleading eyes and he is clearly torn about what to do. Everntually, her sighs and returns with me to the couch. I climb back into his arms and once again we sit in silence.

"There is one onther thing, though." I whisper this so lightly I don't even know if he heard.

"What is it, Aria? You know you can tell me anything."

I take a deep and shakey breath. Part of me knows that I shouldn't be doing this, but I have to. I lean back to look at him. "I hate not having you by my side." He opens his mouth to protest, but I stop him.

"I don't mean it that way. Just listen to me. Please." With that he closes his mouth and looks at my with curiosity and love. I take another deep breath.

"I know that it was my idea to break up. But everytime we're not together, my whole world just feels wrong. Not even just now. All the times before. And I can't help but feel guilty, I mean, I have been an awful grilfriend to you. With the secrets and the lying. And when we were on a break, I would see other people. I don't even know why I did that! I didn't love them! I loved you! And you- you have been wonderful. I mean you have completely dedicated youself to me, even when we weren't a couple. ANd I don't know why I did all those things to you even though I loved you all along. God just seeing you with that lady tonight made my heart tear. And to think of all the boys I was with after I met you!

"And now…" I take a slow breath. I am crying yet again. "Now I just can't take it anymore. It's so hard to be anything but with you because you are what keeps my world from falling apart and keeps me sane. I feel so safe when I'm with you I mean I lo- I love you." I look at Ezra whose eyes and now watering waiting for him to say anything, but instead, he leans in and kisses me.

I'm taken aback at first, but I quickly lean into it. The kiss is gentle yet hungry and passionate all at the same time. After a few minutes, we have to sepreate to get some air. Ezra catches his breath and looks me in the eyes so intensely I feel I might break.

"Aria. I love you. And I hope you know that and will always know that. Nothing can change it." I grin a little as he continues. "I'm not angry with you ARia, for any of the things you just mentioned. I understand. You were coping or adjusting or just doing what you needed to do and I do not hold that against you. Know that you are forgiven for those things, and that it is okay for you to forgive yourself for those. Aria, you are the best girl I could wish for. Don't doubt it for a second."

Before I could say anything, he kisses me again. I am so glad that I am finally in his arms again. After the kiss breaks, I lean and put my forehead against his. "Ezra?" I whisper softly. "Is it okay if I spend the night at your place tonight?"

He looks down at me with a content smile. "Of course." He gives me another kiss and then we lock up and get in his car back to his place.


	3. Chapter 3 - This chapter is rated M

Ezra's POV

I am so glad that Aria decided to come and see me tonight. Even since she got back from the dollhouse, it's been obvious that she needed help and support, but I didn't want to pressure her into anything. And now, here she is with her hand intertwined with mine as we make our way to my apartment; a place where we have spent countless blissful hours together. I can't believe that she's with me like this. Well, I can. It's just that I love her so much it hasn't quite sunk in.

We pulled into that parking lot and I turned off the car. I looked over at Aria, amazed by just how beautiful she is. Aria looks up at me and I realize I must have been staring at her for a while. A clear my throat and get out of the car and open the door for her. She gets out and clings to my arm. I smile as we make our way up to the apartment.

Aria's POV

I let out a sigh of relief once we got into 3B that I didn't even know I was holding. Ezra comes over to me and take off my coat. I turn around and look at him in the eye. He holds my gaze, his eyes full of desire. I don't exactly know why, but I lean forward and pull him into a passionate kiss. Ezra seems hesitant for a second, but responds none the less. I run my tongue against his bottom lip and he eagerly gives me entrance. I push my tongue into his mouth as we battle for dominance. I feel Ezra moan into my mouth and I smile against his lips. I walk him backwards so that his back is up against the door. I let my hand move from his face up into his hair so I can play with his curls. He then slowly moves his hands from my waist to my ass and he squeezes it lightly. This cause me to let out a giggle.

He lets out another moan and he lifts me up so my legs are wrapped around his waist. He turns us around so now I am the one with my back to the door. He slide as knee in between my legs so it's pressed against my wet core and I let out a whimper. I move my hand underneath his shirt so I can run my hands against the bare skin of his chest.

I part the kiss in need for air and Ezra moves his head down to my neck and leaves a trail of open mouth kisses against my body. I move to start take off my shirt when Ezra stops and looks at me. "Why'd you stop?" I frown. "Aria. I love you, but are you sure you want this? I mean, it's been a long week. I don't want to be taking advantage of you in a moment of weakness."

I slip out of his arms so I am now standing on him. I wrap my arms around his neck. "Ezra. I want this. I am absolutely sure that I want this. I've be needing this- needing you. Please Ezra. I want this."

He looks back at me with his eyes full of lust. He doesn't say anything, but instead kisses me passionately. He grabs my waist and turns me around and starts heading towards the bed. Without breaking the kiss, our hands get to work taking off each others clothes so that we are only left in our underwear. My legs hit the back of the bed. Ezra then picks me up and gently lays me down so that he is on top of me. He breaks the kiss so that he can start to leave a trail of kisses down my body. I let out a moan as he reaches the top of my breasts. He moves his hands to my back and fiddles with my bra strap silently asking for permission. I nod and he undos it letting my breasts fall free.

He immediately move his head to my right nipple and captures it in his mouth causing me to throw my head back in pleasure as he massages me left nipple. He then does the same things to the other side. I am so glad that we are here together again. I love this man so much. I can't believe that I was foolish enough to ever let him go.

Once he finishes giving my breasts proper attention, he kisses down my stomach and reaches the tops of my pantline. I look down at him biting my bottom lip anxiously waiting for him to make his next move.

He moves lower, but then starts kissing my thighs, making sure to tease me plenty. Once he's done he has me completely soaked. He looks up at me, his eyes full of lust. I nod my head signaling for his to continue.

He looks back down and slowly slides off my purple thong. He licks his lips taking in the sight of my dripping pussy. He moves forward and takes one long lick from the bottom to the top of my sex. I throw the head and let out a loud moan.

Ezra starts by shoving his tongue inside of my cunt. He swirling it around sucking up all of the juices that are running down my legs. He slowing starts moving it in and out making moans fall from my lips. After giving my pussing proper care, and playing with my labia, he goes straight for my clit making me squirm underneath him. He begins flicking my clit with his tongue and then starts sucking, causing me to cry out. "Oh god Ez babe. Yes god keep going." With that, he shoves two fingers inside of my pussy causing me to cry out in pleasure.

"Fuck" I whisper under my breath. He starts speeding up his thrusts aiming for my g-spot and I feel my walls start clamping around his fingers signalling my upcoming orgasm. With that, he shoves a third finger inside me and sucking harder on my clit pushing me over the edge and sending me into an earth shattering orgasm. I cry out as Ezra continues his ministrations intending for me to ride out my orgasm to the fullest.

"Shit" I whisper once I caught my breath. "I really needed one of those." Ezra lets out a small laugh and slides his fingers out of me. I let out a whimper and watch as he licks his fingers clean on his cum. I open my mouth slightly to let him slip two fingers into my mouth so I can taste my own juices. He slides back up my body and give me a long and passionate kiss. I wrap my hands around his neck, break the kiss, and look into his eye. He gives me a soft smile that just melts my heart.

I go to return the favor that he just gave me, but he stops me. I give him a quizzical look, and he leans in to kiss my forehead. "I just want you tonight, Aria. I want tonight to be all about you. I love you." I run my fingers through his hair and kiss him deeply. "I love you too."

Ezra opens that drawer to the nightstand and digs through it to find a condom. Once he gets one he tears it open with his teeth. He goes to put it on, but I stop him. "Wait," I say. "I want to do that." He smiles down at me and silently gives me the condom, his eyes full of lust. I rub him a little before I take off his briefs causing him to close his and and let out a low growl. I smile to myself knowing that I have such an effect on him. I his underwear down his legs and he kicked it onto the floor along with the rest of our clothes. I roll the condom down his big lenght, feeling just how huge and hard he is. He has such a beautiful body; I am so lucky.

I move back up and lay my head on the pillow looking up into Ezra's eyes. I nod my head letting him know one last time that this is what I wanted. He interlocks his fingers with mine and puts out hands above my head. He slowly moves his big shaft into my hot, tight center until and we both moan at the feeling of being completely together. Once he has completely filled me up, I wrap my legs around his waist.

Ezra slowly starts thrusting slowly into me. I look into his eyes amazed by him. I lean in to kiss him. He kisses me back with passion and love making me moan. He moves his head and starts getting all my sweet spots: my earlobes, jawline, collarbone, and my neck. He starts sucking on my skin which is certainly going to leave a hickey, but right now I couldn't care less.

Moans continue to fall from my lips and Ezra starts to pant. He speeds up his thrusting and starts pounding into me hards.n "Oh god Ezra." I cry out. "Yes baby right there. Yes. Faster." He starts going faster and harder. "Baby oh I'm about to come." He lets out a hungry growl in the crook of my neck. He whispers in my ear. "I'm almost there, kitten." "Come on, Ezzy. Cum for me."

With that, he cums hard just as I spiral into my second orgasm of the night. He collapses on top of me, panting hard. I whisper into his ear, "I love you so fucking much." I feel him smile into the crook of my neck. He looks at me and I feel my heart turn into mush. "I love you, too." He kisses me on the nose, and then goes in for a chaste kiss on the lips. He gets up to throw the condom in the trash. I can't help but smile at his cute butt.

He come back into bed and wraps me into his arms. I snuggle into him as close as I can, glad to be back together again. As we lay there, with our sweaty limbs tangled together with a thin sheet over our bodies, and I couldn't help but feel that now that I'm with him, this is the happiest I've been in months.


	4. Chapter 4 - Another M chapter oops!

Ezra's POV

I sit and lie awake with the women I love in my arms. I look down at Aria who is sleeping lightly in my arms. Despite how much she denies it, she softly snores when she sleep, which I find completely adorable.

I am glad that Aria said that she feels safe with me. After all the drama that went down involving Maggy and the book, I thought that I would lose Aria forever. I honestly don't know what I would do without her. She's the one; I know it. I look over at the clock and it read 1:08 a.m. I gently slip my arms out from under Aria and try not to wake her. I get up to go to the bathroom and try to be as quiet as possible, but when I go back out, Aria is awake.

She looks up at me and gives me a sly smile. "Sorry. I didn't want to wake you," I said. I made my way back to the bed. I sat up in it, as did Aria, and she leaned her head against my chest. "No, it's fine. I want to spend time with you." I wrap my arm around her and trace circles on her arm and plant a kiss on the top of her head.

I feel her take a deep breath as her body slightly rises and falls against mine. "Ezra," I hear her whisper quietly. "Yes baby?". She move so she is lying on her stomach, propped up by her forearms, and looking at me.

"Look, I know I said that I didn't want to talk about it. But… I can't get the idea of the dollhouse out of my mind. I just- I don't know how to deal with everything. And Hannah keeps on telling us the we should talk about it with someone and- I don't know." She looked down at her twiddling fingers. She continues softly, "I guess that I just feel the most comfortable with you." Once she gets out everything that she needed to say, she looked back up at me. "I mean if that's okay with you," she adds quickly.

I look at her amazed. She has been so strong. She has dealt with more these past two years than most people do in their lifetime. She has managed to cope with everything so well. She is such a beautiful soul. She will never cease to impress me by how tenacious and compassionate she is. I move to cup her face with my hand. "Aria, I love you. I'm glad you've decided to talk about. You know you can tell me anything, and I am honored that you are telling me something so personal." I lean forward to give her a sweet, soft and gentle kiss to let her know she can trust me and feel safe.

Aria's POV

I took a deep breath and began to tell Ezra everything that went on down in the dollhouse. I told him about how the rooms -A had locked us in were set up exactly like our own, how he had us set up our own prom. I explain how we were locked in our rooms, separated for weeks; left in there to be tortured and never leaver. No windows and completely surrounded by concrete. I told him all the ways -A would torture us; how we would have to choose between the other three on who would get water or food that day, and how if we didn't choose, it would happen to all of them. I was saying how sometimes, I would be so hungry it felt my stomach would start eating itself and how some days when I was thirsty, I wouldn't pee at all.

I explained to him every detail and feeling I could think of and he sat there attentively listening to every word that came out of my mouth. He was patient when I was crying, as well as comforting and supportive, and he validated me on every level. The more and more I told him, the more and more I was glad I did this. Ezra has always been there for me, even when we weren't together. He loves me and knows how to make me feel loved. I am so grateful to have him to turn too.

Ezra gets up to make two cups of coffee. We've been talking so long. It's now a quarter 'til four, so we figured we should just pull an all nighter. Ezra walked back to the bed with two steaming cups of coffe. He hands mine to me, climbs in the bed, and scoots closer to me. I take a sip of my coffee and see that he made it just the way I like it: with two sugars with soy milk. I give him a small "thank you" and he returns with a boyish smile. I love how can remember even the smallest things about me.

I clear my throat to pick up where I left off. "I just feel so guilty about what I did to the girls. Having to choose between them was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I mean- those days they didn't get the chance to eat- that's on me, Ezra." I look down at my coffee. "I just can't get over what I did to them."

Ezra sets both of our coffees down on the nightstand, scoots over, and pulls me into and embrace. "Babe, you did absolutely nothing wrong," I look up at him in disagreement, but he continues. "Look, -A is sadistic and evil. He would have tortured you guys no matter what. You having to make decisions of who, was actually -A torturing you.

"-A would have done this stuff no matter what, but by making all of you guys the middlemen, he was just furthering the torture. You did nothing wrong. You were the victim here, not the assailant." I nod my head slowly, starting to come around to the idea. "Do you really think that?" He moves his hands up so that they are cupping my face. "I do."

It is amazing the effect that he has on me. I never in my life thought I would love somebody so much. I move my hands up to his head and pull him into passionate kiss and Ezra kisses back with just as much force. I feel him trail his tongue across my lips, desperately wanting entrance, which I give him. He flicks his tongue against mine and I moan into his mouth. I move so I am straddling his hardening cock. He moans at the feel of my damp pussy grinding against him.

He pushes forward so we are sitting up, with me in his lap, in the middle of the bed. HE wraps his arms around my bare torso pulling my chest against his. I start moving my hands up to play with his hair and his ears. I feel as his hands trace light circles against my waist causing a shiver to rush through my spine.

I move my hands so they are against his chest and start running them up and down making him moan. Then, I move them down to his thighs, getting dangerously close to his now fully erect member, making sure to tease him. His heavy breath tells me that my ministrations are taking just the effect I wanted them to.

I move my lips from his to start kissing his neck. I was determined to leave him several hickies of my own. I push his back so that we are laying down again and I slowly starts moving lower and lower; kissing on his collar bones, his chest, and now his stomach. Ezra realised where this was going and cups the side of my face to pull me up to his eye level. He opens his mouth to protest, but instead I place a quick kiss on his lips and smile. I lean down so that my mouth is next to his ear and whisper, "Come on Ez, please let me suck your cock. I want to." With that I feel him get _even harder_ against my leg.

After several moments without a word, I smile in victory as I make my way back down his body. I look up at Ezra and see him looking back down at me. His eyes were full of lust and he was eagerly anticipating my next move. I then turn my attention back to his big, throbbing cock. I think back to the night when we first made love. When I had seen it, I didn't think it was going to fit.

With one hand, I wrap my fingers around the bottom of his shaft while my second hand goes to massage his balls. I slowly start pumping up and down and Ezra throws his head back followed by a load moan. I look up and see that his eyes are closed, which is the perfect time for me to start what I was about to do next. Keeping my eyes on him, I give a kiss on the tip of his cock, then slowly move my mouth around his head. Ezra's eyes shoot open and he looks down at me, clearly turned on my my eyes staring at ahim hungrily. I start to bob my head up and down, taking him deeper and deeper into my throat each time. I move my right hand at the same pace that my head is bobbing. I smile against his cock as I hear him whisper "fuck" under his breath. I love being able to have such an effect on him.

Then, I decide to do something special, given that it has been such a long time since I have given him oral. I slide him completely out of my mouth, then without hands, I wrap my mouth back around his dick and slide all of him into my mouth, never once stopping to adjust. By now, Ezra is writhing under me. "Fuck," he growls hungrily. "Aria I'm about to-". Before he could finish his statement, I swallow which sends him completely flying over the edge. His hot cum shoots down my throat and I look up at him as I lick up every last bit of it.

Once he recovered from his orgasm, he looked at my and shook his head in disbelief with a boyish smile plastered on his face. "I still don't understand how you got so good at that." I climb back up so my face is right by his. "Well," I state. "Although I was a virgin when I met you, I had had my fair share or wild nights in Iceland." He chuckles and looks at me with a loving gaze. "I feel like I'm meeting a new Aria everytime we talk about Iceland." I giggle a little. "Well, when you're sixteen, in a foreign country that defines you of legal drinking age, and with minimal parental supervision… things can get a little out of hand."

We both let out a quiet laugh. There is a moment of silence until Ezra's gaze catches mine. My breath hitched. I am startled by how much he can effect me. Before I know what's happening, his lips are on mine. I respond by grabbing his face and pulling him deeper into the kiss. He flips us over so now he's on top and I'm on the bottom. He kisses me forcefully as we head into the second round for the evening.


	5. Chapter 5

Ezra's POV

I lie awake with Aria lying in my arms. It's now 6 in the morning. Aria and I spent all night talking and making love. All the things she told me tonight made me appreciate her even more. I can't believe what her, as well as the girls. She is so strong. All the things she told me about, and all the things she went through, blow my mind. I would never be able to handle that as well as she had. I am so grateful for her. The time, I am determined not to let her go.

I feel Aria shift against my my chest. She lies her head on my so she is looking up into my eyes. I look down at her, unable to believe just how beautiful she is. "Well, I guess I should say good morning. I can't believe we stayed up all night." I let out a small chuckle. "I wish we could just stay here forever." I hear here give a small hum of content.

"I'm going to take a shower. Care to join me?" I start getting up and look down at her, silently pleading for her to say yes. "Well babe, my legs are still a little weak. You sure did wear me out last night." I lean down and start kissing her neck, hoping to persuade her. "Come on. All we will do is shower, I promise." I start tickling her and she squeals and squirms underneath me. "All right all right! I surrender!" She giggles and plants a big kiss on my lips.

I scoop her up in my arms and she squeals again; I feel her bury her head into the crook of my neck, smiling against my skin. I carry her into the bathroom, set her into the tub (given that we were already naked due to our previous activities), and start running the hot water from the shower head. I step into shower and pull Aria up and close to my body.

Reaching behind me, I grab shampoo and start rubbing it in Aria's hair. She looks so stunning. I turn her around and wash her down. Her big eyes are looking into mine. I don't know if I will even get over how beautiful she is. She places her hands on the side on my head and leans up on her tippy toes to kiss me. Slyly, I feel her reach for body wash and washes down both of our bodies. Her hands feel so good on me that I let out a small moan. Aria raises an eyebrow which I know means to control myself.

In order to not get myself even more worked up, we both finish washing ourselves, with several stolen kisses of course, and get out of the shower. I need to go into work, so I start getting dressed. Aria decides to join me. She puts on her jeans from the night before, and starts making her way to the closet. "Wh-what are you doing?" I ask. "Um… I'm just getting one of your shirts to wear. I'm not really in the mood to wear dirty clothes." She turns back towards that closet. "Well-why don't I just get that for you…" my voice trails off as she opens the draw.

She turns back towards me, jaw relaxed. "You still have a draw of my clothes? I have been looking for this scarf for ages!" "Well-I just-um-" I start, looking for words. She raises an eyebrow at me. "I guess I just didn't really find a good time to return it to you. I mean, with everything going on. I just- didn't want to add any stress." I take a pause. "Plus, I just figured in case anything like this ever happened again, it would good to be prepare, ya know."

Aria smirks a little as she turns around and pulls something out of the draw. When she turns back to me, she has the same smirk on her face with the object concealed behind her back. "Like this?" She reveals the object to show a lingerie set: a royal blue lace push up bra with a matching thong. I blush and look down at my feet. Aria take some brave struts towards me. "If I recall correctly," she says with a hint of lust in her voice, "this was one your favorites pieces of mine." By the time she finishes her sentence, she's right in front of me. My breath hitches, not really knowing what to say. Her body relaxes and she breaks her straight face. She lets out a cute giggle and presses her lips against mine. "Don't worry babe, it's fine."

She turns around and waltzes away from me, her hips swaying back and forth. She is absolutely mesmerizing. Once we're dressed, we grab a quick bite to eat and head over to The Brew.

Ella's POV

I look down at my watch and see it reads 8:27. " _Shit,_ " I whisper under my breath. I'm going to be late for a coffee date with Ashley and Pam. Veronica, however, was busy with work. We were meeting at The Brew. We figured it would be good for all of us to talk. With all that's been going on, we barely have been able to catch our breaths. Since we are all going through the same thing, we might as well talk about it with each other.

I hussle into my car. As I drive, my wanders to different things, but my thoughts always drift back to Aria. She really hasn't been herself lately. Not to mention that she won't talk about anything; she is just shoving everything under the rug. I don't know what to do. I wanted to give her some space, but now I'm starting to get worried.

I park my car and hurry into The Brew. I look around and spot Pam and Ashley sitting at a table, but something else catches my eye. Aria and Ezra are sitting on the couch together, a laptop on Aria's legs, and Ezra sitting close to her with his arm around her shoulder. But, that's not what I notice the most. She's laughing. Really laughing. I haven't seen as much as a genuine smile since Aria got back from the dollhouse. Aria talks about how fond she is of Ezra, and I guess I haven't really taken a good look at their relationship as such since a couple months ago. Aria looks up at him with glowing eyes and steals a kiss. This surprising me a little, but what surprises me more is that I'm really okay with it. Even happy about it.

As I stand there, I realize I must have been looking for them for a while. Thankfully they don't notice; it looks like Ezra is helping Aria with something on her laptop. I make my way over to Ashley and Pam. They, however, did notice my staring. We exchange greetings and I sit down and accept the coffee Pam had gotten for me. I couldn't help but to look over at Aria and Ezra again.

"Don't worry, Ella," Ashley tells me. "I know their relationship may scare you, but I think they really love each other. I know it's not really my place to say, but Hannah says he treats her well. He's helpful to other girls, too." She stops and Pam starts up. "I don't know him all too well, just as Emily's teacher and boss. But when the girls were gone, sometimes I would come in here. He would give me coffee on the house. He would say that 'if I was losing as much sleep as he was, it was the least that he could do.'"

I remember right after Aria got out from the dollhouse, I stopped by Ezra's apartment to thank him for everything he did to help her. He looked really surprised to see me, but was very welcoming. I thanked him for saving my daughter's life and gave him a hug. He just looked at me and told me that he would do anything for Aria.

My face relaxes into a smile. I can tell already it was a smart idea meeting with them. "Thanks," I say. "I like him, I really do. I guess sometimes the mama bear in me comes out. But with everything that has happened, he has really proved himself. I'm glad Aria has him." Pam grabs my hand giving it a light squeeze and smiles.

I _am_ happy that Aria and Ezra are back together, especially since she has mentioned several times how safe he makes her feel. I can't help but wonder if they're having sex. I know it's really none of my business, but I can't help myself. I recall early this month when I called Dr. Sullivan asking for advice with Aria. She said that getting into her old habits and routines would help her a lot. And although I would never admit it to anyone, if that means Aria and Ezra being intimate with each other, then so be it. All I want is for her to be happy.

Aria's POV

I've spent the morning with Ezra. It's been so great spending time with him. I almost forgot how good I felt when I was with him. It's around 9:00 and I'm starting to get a little hungry. "Hey baby, I'm getting something to eat. Do you want anything?" I ask Ezra who is fighting hard to stay awake since he got no sleep last night. All he does and yawns and shakes his head no. I suppress a laugh and lean up to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll take that as one coffee." This time, he is the one to laugh and he presses his lips against mine.

I stand up and make my way to the counter when I spot my mom with Hannah's and Emily's moms sitting at a table deep in conversation. "I wonder when they got here," I think to myself. I shrug it off and go to find myself something to eat.

As I'm pouring mine and Ezra's coffee I hear a familiar voice behind me. "I didn't expect to see you here this morning." I turn around to wish my mom and good morning. "Hey! Yeah, Ezra had some work to do so I came in with him. Now, he's working with me on my resume for that art show I was telling you about."

She nods her head and it's silent for a while. "Are you feeling better?" I take long breath and think about the last 12 hours of my life. In such a small amount of time, Ezra has made me feel so much more like myself again. "You know what? I am. I think I'm finally starting to adjust back. And I'm not always stuck in the past, ya know? I'm really starting to have better moods. I've been spending more time with Ezra and I just think things are really starting to look up for me." My mom smiles and nods. "So are you two-like-are you guys…" I stop her there. "Well we haven't really talked about it but, yeah." Which to my surprise, makes her smile even harder.

She takes a deep and slow breath and looks at me with a serious face. "Look, this is something that I should have told you a long time ago, but… Ezra's a great guy. I'm really happy that you have him. I want you to know that I support your relationship with him. He treats you well and I can tell how happy he makes you."

I couldn't believe the words coming out of my mother's mouth. A year and a half ago, I would have never thought this would happen. Then again, I didn't think much of anything that happened recently would either. Not really knowing what to say, I pull her into a tight embrace. I startle her a little, but she hugs me tightly as well and laughs a good, hearty laugh.

"He really does love you, you know." I pull back and look my mom in the eye, still amazed by this notion. "I know," I say softly. "And I love him too." She take both of my hands and holds them in hers to give them both a tight squeeze. "And thanks, Mom. For this. It means a lot to me, really." She pulls me into another firm hug.

"I'll let you get back to your work," she says. And with that, she returns to her table. I can't believe that just happened. Things really are starting to turn around. I grab the coffees and my snack and walk back over to Ezra. I set everything down on the table in front of us, and before Ezra can get to his coffee, I sit in his lap and pull him into a deep and chaste kiss. Ezra looks down at me lovingly. "What was that for," he asks. "Nothing," I shrug. "I just really love you." He flashes a smile at me. He looks so handsome when he smiles. Hell, he looks handsome all the time. He cups my face in his hand and pulls me into another deep kiss. I let my hand wander into his and I just can't help but to think how lucky I am to have him.


End file.
